Tracie's World

One of my "stones of light" for this year is Charity. Not just the type of charity which means giving to the less fortunate, but the pure love of Christ. It's a characteristic I truly want to develop. However... let me just say, charity is hard. This last couple of years I've been reprimanded, made fun of, sabotaged (and I'm not talking about a certain oversize cat), harassed, and in general, had many opportunities to develop charity. And boy, have I struggled with it. I'm someone who just wants to like everyone and have everyone like me. So it is really hard to not take offense or run away in those situations. I also am someone who stews about it for weeks or even months afterwards. Why did I shrink, why can't I "give it right back" and then some? Why do I always think of the perfect response ten minutes later? Woe is me. The thing about charity is that it's not something we can plan ahead. We're usually confronted with it on the spur

Been a bit distracted lately, going through what I can only term as my mid-life crisis. Here I am, in middle age, and I'm still trying to find my path in life. I've been doing a lot of thinking, a lot of reading, and a lot of soul searching. Frankly, it's left me kind of stuck and in a funk. But as I was pondering yet again today (the Sabbath is a great time for pondering), I was struck by something said by a gentleman whose work I've recently begun following. His recommendation was not to focus on the thousandth step, just focus on the next step. This really rang true for me. It's something I learned last year when I was contemplating going back to school, and I guess I needed to be reminded of it. I need to be less concerned with "figuring it all out", and more so about the opportunities right in front of me. So - I promise to try harder at not getting too far ahead of myself. And to try to see and keep taking steps in front of me. Keep you posted.